Poland sets crypto veto vote amid widening Zondacrypto scandal

Poland’s lower house will vote this week on overriding President Karol Nawrocki’s third veto of legislation regulating cryptoassets, Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty said on August 28.

The vote will turn a long-running dispute over implementing the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rules into a test for the opposition amid the widening scandal of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Zondcrypto.

Even though Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition lacks the three-fifths majority needed to overturn the veto, Tusk requested the vote after saying Zondacrypto’s “dirty business” had been closely connected to Law and Justice (PiS) circles.

Prosecutors are investigating possible offences involving Zondacrypto financing of foundations linked to former PiS Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, pro-PiS broadcaster TV Republika and the 2025 CPAC Poland conference, which endorsed Nawrocki for president.

Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS, has long said the government bill would overregulate the sector and drive companies abroad.

Nawrocki had vetoed three previous attempts to implement the bill's provisions, prompting Tusk to allege the president's questionable links to Zondacrypto.

The collapsed exchange's CEO Przemysław Kral reportedly cut a deal with the prosecution to testify on PiS's links to Zondacrypto in exchange for a potentially lower sentence. One of Kral's lawyers is now Roman Giertych, a prominent MP for the Civic Coalition, which is led by Tusk.

Polish Olympic Committee chief Radosław Piesiewicz, considered close to PiS, was meanwhile remanded in custody over alleged influence-peddling and preferential repayment by Zondacrypto. Piesiewicz denies wrongdoing.

The collapsed exchange left thousands unable to access funds, with estimated losses of at least PLN350mn (€80.6mn), although the exchange's clients' total loss has been estimated at 2.4bn.

This story has been updated.